Africian Famine Walk: Big Oil - Poverty, Weapons and Water

8/9/2019 Africian Famine Walk: Big Oil - Poverty, Weapons and Water

1/8

Famine Walk 2008

Weapons:

Water,Oil,

resources and conflict

at home and abroad

From Doolough to Louisburgh, Co. Mayo

Saturday 17th May 2008, beginning at 2pm

Walk Leaders:

Muireann de Barra

Michael McCaughan

John Rodsted

and

Risn Elsafty

Organised by Afri,with

Louisburgh Community Project


2/8

Introduction

Some might wonder why we have chosenthe theme water, oil, weapons for thisyears famine walk. What do these issueshave to do with the commemoration of the

Great Famine in Ireland? What do theyhave to do with famine and hunger intodays world?

Irelands Great Famine was the result ofmany factors political, economic andenvironmental. The failure of the potatocrop was the trigger that unleashed acatastrophe that had been made almostinevitable by a combination of colonialism,

neo-liberal economic policies and over-dependence by the majority of the popula-tion on one crop, the potato. And whilepeople were dying of hunger, food in abun-dance was available to those who couldafford it and some was being exported,sometimes under armed guard, out ofIreland.

In many respects the same conditions per-tain today. Countries of the rich Northernhemisphere adapt a neo-colonialist stancetowards the developing world while neo-lib-eral economic policies flourish. Food con-tinues to be exported from the poorestcountries to be sold on the supermarketshelves of the rich.

Other resources are exported too, of

course. The Niger Delta, for example, wasonce a rich food producing area of Africa.The discovery of oil there led to the colonialtakeover of the region by multinational cor-porations which exploited and exported itsresources and left a wasteland in theirwake. Many of todays wars are largelyfought over oil, Iraq being the most obviousexample. And conflict over resources is notjust an issue out there. It has come home

to Ireland in recent years, as the people ofErris know only too well: this issue,amongst others, will be addressed on thewalk by journalist and author MichaelMcCaughan.

The link between water and famine is welldocumented. Drought and famine are syn-onymous in the Sahel and Southern Africain particular. A BBC reporter speakingabout the experience of travelling in a landbeset by drought says Any vehicle driving

through this barren landscape is confront-ed along the road by villagers wavingempty plastic bottles, saucepans, bowls -anything that might hold any drop of pre-cious water. This precious resource too isalso under threat, a trend worsened by theprivatisation of water by profit-greedy cor-porations. Muireann de Barra has docu-mented the water wars in Bolivia but shewill also refer on the walk to other areas

and to the threat to water in Ireland and inMayo, in particular.

Behind the exploitation of water and oil,and the wars fought for their control, liesthe arms industry, whose turnover hasreached the staggering figure of $1, 200billion per year. These weapons feed con-flict and war, which results in hunger inmany parts of the world. The arms industry

also represents the most obscene wastageof resources, resources which could beused to provide food, water and shelter formillions of people throughout the world.Among the most offensive manifestationsof this cruel industry are cluster munitions,an issue that will be addressed by JohnRodsted on the walk.

Shortly after the Famine walk, from May19th to 30th, an international conference inDublin will attempt to bring in a permanentban on the manufacture, stockpiling anduse of these awful weapons (discussed fur-ther below). Please lobby your local TDsand/or Minister for Foreign Affairs DermotAhern on this issue, to ensure that a strongtreaty is negotiated not a compromisewhich bows to the vested interest of coun-

tries which manufacture and use clustermunitions and which would betray theirnumerous victims throughout the world.

Joe Murray


3/8

Biographies

Risn Elsafty Risn comes fromConamara and grew up in a musical family.She has been singing sean-ns from anearly age, inspired by her mother, Treasa

N Cheannabhin Elsafty. She has takenpart in several collaborations, whichinclude highly successful shows with DnalLunny and Friends. She sang BrendanGrahams composition chn An GortaMr in 2000 which features on Ceol Reoite.In 2003, Risn recorded An Phalistn forSharon Shannons much acclaimed albumLibertango. The song was penned byTreasa N Cheannabhin and the music

composed by both Treasa and DnalLunny. It was later released as a single inIreland. The aim was to help raise aware-ness of the Palestinian plight and to aid theGalway Palestinian Solidarity Movement inbringing Palestinian children from thePalestinian camps within Israel to Galwayfor a short break.Risn's first solo album 'M bhonn t liomb liom' was released in mid-January thisyear. It has been described as 'A thing ofbeauty from beginning to end' by The IrishTimes.

Muireann de Barra is a documentary film-maker from Dublin. In recent years she hasfocused on aspects of the global water cri-sis and is particularly interested in theimpact of water privatisation on developingcountries. She has been documenting the

'water wars' which have erupted in Boliviasince 2000 in response to water privatiza-tion, and is co-director of a forthcoming filmon the subject. She has also documentedgeo-political struggles for water in theMiddle East, including the distribution ofshared water resources in Palestine andIsrael. While her focus to date has been onwater struggles in the developing world,she recognises water security as anincreasingly critical issue in Ireland and the

importance of water remaining a publicgood here at home.

Michael McCaughan is an Irish writer whohas spent most of the last twenty years liv-ing and working in Latin America, writing fora number of publications, including the IrishTimes. His latest book The Price of ourSouls: Gas, Shell and Ireland was pub-

lished by Afri in January of this year. Hehas published two books previously: TrueCrimes, a biography of Argentinian writerRodolfo Walsh, and The Battle ofVenezuela, about the government of HugoChavez. His next book, due out in summer2008, is about death row prisoner MumiaAbu Jamal

John Rodsted has documented the

humanitarian impact of landmines, clustermunitions and other unexploded ordnancein some of the most war torn regions of theworld. In 2006, he spent several weeks insouthern Lebanon documenting the civilianimpact of cluster munition strikes by Israel.His work has been widely exhibited inLondon, Washington, Sydney and at theUnited Nations. As the official photographerof the International Campaign to Ban

Landmines, he documented the OttawaProcess leading to the 1997 Mine BanTreaty and subsequent Nobel Peace Prizeaward to that campaign.

Gary and Janie Whitedeer being interviewed forRTE's 'Nationwide' Programme before the 2007

Famine Walk

Pho

to:Afri


4/8

Cluster Bombs Can

Be Banned

Cluster bombs are either dropped fromaircraft or fired from the ground and aredesigned to break open in midair,releasing dozens or hundreds of explo-

sive sub-munitions and saturatingareas that can be the size of severalfootball fields. Anybody within that area,be they military or civilian, is very likelyto be killed or seriously injured. As somany of the sub-munitions fail to workproperly, huge quantities are left on theground and, like landmines, remain afatal threat to anyone in the area long

after a conflict has ended killing andinjuring people trying to rebuild theirlives, and preventing access to land,schools and hospitals.

In August 2006, Israel used clusterbombs in Lebanon. An estimated 3.2-4.6 million sub-munitions from clusterbombs were scattered across large

parts of southern Lebanon. Despiteongoing clearance efforts, hundreds ofthousands of sub-munitions still litter

the ground, rendering large areas ofagricultural land hazardous, and killingand injuring people to this day. One ofthe victims is 11 year old Zahra HusseinSoufan (pictured). Zahra, like manychildren, was attracted by the small size

and curious shape of the sub-munitionthat blew her hand off when it explodedafter she picked it up.

Cluster bombs have killed and injuredtens of thousands of civilians during thelast 40 years in at least 30 countriesand territories. The US used massivenumbers of cluster bombs in Cambodia,

Laos and Vietnam during the 1970s.More recently, cluster bombs were usedextensively in the Gulf War, Chechnya,the former Yugoslavia, Afghanistan,Iraq and Lebanon. Their increasing usein Africa, and use by non-state armedgroups in Afghanistan and Lebanon,has raised alarm over proliferation ofthe billions of sub-munitions in stock-piles around the world.

After 40 years of such suffering, andpublic outrage against it, there is nowhope for a lasting global solution. From1930 May 2008 the Irish Governmentwill host the Dublin DiplomaticConference on Cluster Munitions,where countries will conclude an 18month process by finalising negotia-tions on a new international conventionto ban these weapons as well as pro-viding assistance to affected communi-ties and victims. The Dublin DiplomaticConference is part of a process whichbegan in Oslo in February 2007 andcontinued in Lima in May 2007, Viennain December 2007, and Wellington inFebruary 2008.Ireland is one of many governmentssupporting a treaty to ban cluster

Photo:John

Ro

dsted

Zahra Hussein Soufan


5/8

bombs, and has been leading interna-tional efforts to achieve a strong andeffective treaty. However, it is expectedthat during the negotiations in Dublin anumber of mainly European countrieswill try to weaken the treaty by creating

loopholes to exclude certain types ofcluster munitions which they stockpile.The recently formed Cluster MunitionCoalition (CMC) Ireland is calling on theIrish government, as Chair of the con-ference, to ensure that the Dublin nego-tiations deliver a treaty that will ban allcluster bombs and ensure that affectedcommunities are given assistance to

clear their land and help survivors. TheDublin Conference is the opportunity todeliver the most significant disarma-ment treaty in more than a decade. Wecannot fall short in the face of this his-toric opportunity. To support the confer-ence, CMC Ireland is organising aseries of activities to raise awareness ofthe civilian harm caused by clustermunitions and to highlight the impor-tance of a comprehensive treaty ban-ning these weapons. The strong sup-port of Irish civil society for a meaning-ful and robust convention will be crucialto ensure that the Irish governmentstands firm as Chair of the conference.

Governments must put the protection ofcivilians at the core of their approach tothe treaty, not the protection of unac-ceptable weapons.

Find out more on the CMC Ireland web-site: www.stopclusterbombs.ie.

Susan HenselCo-ordinator, Cluster Munition CoalitionIrelandEmail: [email protected]

Dr. Owens Wiwa and Christy Moore were among theleaders of the 2006 Famine Walk

The remarkable view as walkers emerge from theDoolough valley.

Casting shadows

Photo credits:

Front cover: Water: Afri / Oil: Israel Aloja/ ClusterMunitions: John Rodsted

Inside: Derek Speirs, unless otherwise indicated.


6/8

Sponsor Address Amount

Thank you for supporting Afris work for justice and peace

Please return to Afri, 134, Phibsborough Rd, Dublin 7.

Famine Walk 2008

Name of walker Card no.

Address

Total


7/8

The Death March

at Doolough, March 1849

Anyone who goes on the Famine Walk alongDoolough Lake from Louisburgh to Delphi Lodgeis retracing a journey of horror which the localpeople made on the night and morning of 30-31March 1849. Although that death march hasbeen given little publicity until recent times, it hasremained fresh in the mind of the people of thearea. The place has been well named A Road toRemember.

The year 1849 was probably the worst of thosefamine years in the Louisburgh area. The imme-

diate cause of the death march was the expect-ed arrival in Louisburgh on Friday 30 March oftwo commissioners, Colonel Hogrove andCaptain Primrose. They were to inspect thepoorer people and certify them as paupers, soentitling them to a ration of three pounds of mealeach. For some reason the inspection was notmade, and the hundreds of people were told thatthey must appear at Delphi Lodge (ten milesaway) at 7am the following morning if they wereto be certified. They set out on foot along the

mountain road and pathway. The night andmorning snowed. A writer (Ratepayer) to theMayo Constitution on April 10th 1849 com-plained that seven people died on that journey,nine more never reached their homes and sever-al of those who did in a short time ceased tolive. He identifies nine victims: three members ofa Dillon family, Catherine Grady, Mary McHale,James Flynn, Mrs Dalton, her son and daughter.According to this account the total number ofdeaths was no more than twenty on the road and

an uncounted number later in their homes.There is, however, a strong folk tradition in thelocal Louisburgh community that the numberswho died that snowy night on the DooloughRoad should be counted in hundreds. So there isquite a divergence of opinion. In favour of thesmaller numbers it can be said that contempo-rary newspaper accounts establish only these.Further, in her major work, The Great Hunger,Mrs Cecil Woodham-Smyth (1961) has no

account of hundreds of lives being lost in such amarch. The folk tradition can hardly, however, bediscarded out of hand. In view of the remotenessof the area and the lack of communications atthe time, it is possible that the full extent of thetragedy was not reported. An editorial comment

in the Mayo Constitution of 24 April 1849 citedreports from the locality that descriptions hadfallen far short of the frightful scenes that werewitnessed.

That the people of the parish were starving therecan be no doubt. The Church of Ireland incum-bent at Louisburgh, Rev.P.J. Callinan, had writ-ten to the Evening Packet on 10 February 1849to say I am hourly beset with crawling skele-tons begging for food. Against such a back-ground one must allow the real possibility, if notindeed the probability, of hundreds of deaths onthe fatal journey less than two months later.

One further point is worthy of mention: The only

written source which favours the theory of hun-dreds of deaths on the Doolough March is thatof James Berry in Tales of the West (ed.Gertrude Horgan). Reputable historians wouldlook askance at his writings as embellishedsocial history. There are, then, two conflictinglines of opinion about the numbers who died onthe fateful journey on a snowy March night in1849. Written contemporary accounts mentiontwenty or more deaths. Local folklore oftenspeaks of hundreds. Perhaps the truth lies

between.Leon O Morchain

Hunger and the Millennium

Development GoalsAccording to the Food and AgricultureOrganization and the World Food Programmethere are more than 850 million people sufferingfrom hunger in the world today, while at the same

time there is enough food to feed 12 billion peo-ple. This means enough food to feed double theworlds current population!! In September 2000, inlight of such official reports, world leaders agreeda set of goals for the international community, tobring about a world in which sustaining develop-ment and eliminating poverty would have thehighest priority. These are known as theMillennium Development Goals. The first ofthese eight goals is to Eradicate extreme hungerand poverty. 191 UN members have pledged to

reduce by half the number of people sufferinghunger by 2015. Despite these pledges, since2000 the number of hungry people in the worldhas not stopped growing.


8/8

Afri is a justice, peace and human rights organisation, which was founded in

1975. Afris first Famine Walk took place in 1988, with the aim of linking the

experience of Ireland in the 1840s to contemporary issues of famine, hunger,food insecurity and human rights abuses. Since our first famine walk, we have

taken up themes of injustice in the Philippines; Central America; South Africa;

East Timor; the exploitation of the Maya people in Guatemala and of banana

Workers in Belize; the legacy of colonialism; Irelands Welcome to the

Stranger; War is Terror is War; the rights of migrant workers; Land for

People not for Profit; Erris, Gas and global Warming, and, this year, Water,

Oil, Weapons: resources and conflict at home and abroad.

Please help Afri to continue its work by getting sponsorship and taking part in

this walk.

Louisburgh Community Project is located in Louisburgh on the west coast of

Mayo. The Project works from an anti-poverty perspective and seeks to sup-

port and promote community activity. It has a strong focus on community

arts and human rights and has been involved in organising the annual Famine

Walk since 2001.

TransportShuttle buses will leave Louisburgh from 1pm, taking walkers to the start point atDoolough. If there is sufficient demand for seats, a bus will be organized to leavefrom Parnell Square in Dublin at 8.30am on the morning of May 17th and return

the same night. Please confirm this on the week before the walk.

Bus seats must be booked and paid for in advance.Details available from Afri at 01 8827563 or [email protected]

gratefully acknowledges the support of Irish Aid and Trcaire.

Afri, 134 Phibsborough Road, Phibsborough, Dublin 7.Telephone: +353 1 8827563 Fax: +353 1 8827576

email [email protected] www.afri.buz.org

IN THE INTEREST OF HEALTH AND SAFETY, PLEASE WALK ON THERIGHT HAND SIDE OF THE ROAD FOR THE DURATION OF THE WALK.

A creative response by local school children to the theme of this years

famine walk, organised by Louisburgh Community Project, will take place inLouisburgh Parish Hall on the evening of Friday, May 16th at 8pm.

Cil on Saturday night in the Derrylahan, Louisburgh

from 9pm 11.30pm. Filte roimh gach duine.

Documents

Africian Famine Walk: Big Oil - Poverty, Weapons and Water